1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tape recorders. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a tape speed control for a tape recorder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art tape speed controllers for magnetic tape digital bit recorders have usually operated by allowing the operator to select a desired tape speed as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,382. The tape speed at which the transport operates is selected by a control signal generated by a manual control or an electrical interface with a control unit, e.g., a data processor, to select the speed level. Concurrently, a reference clock signal operating at a defined frequency is also selected. The tape speed is then determined by the speed controller to be proportional to the reference frequency within the selected speed level by comparing the reference signal frequency with a signal representative of the tape speed within the tape transport, e.g., a tape drive techometer signal as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,067. However, such a system does not afford a maximum utilization of the recording surface available on the magnetic tape inasmuch as the tape speed is unrelated to the desired or attainable bit packing density or the input rate of the digital bits to be recorded on the magnetic tape.